E-mail allows people to communicate with others around the world using the Internet. Unfortunately, the growth of the Internet has resulted in growth of the problem of “spam” or “junk” e-mail. Junk e-mail is unsolicited, unwelcome e-mail that is a problem facing every Internet user. It is annoying, unwanted and can often be fraudulent or offensive.
Subscribers to online service providers are often targets of spammers and hackers who attempt to gain access to confidential information including, for example, screen names, passwords, and credit card information. One tactic employed by many spammers and hackers is impersonating official personnel in order to trick the subscriber into providing confidential information.